Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) by Moviefan777 — 30 Apr 2015

Saw this as part of the AMC double-feature yesterday. First Avengers got a rousing round of applause as it wrapped up - second one did not. Was it good? Absolutely. Was it great? If you hadn't seen the first one - maybe. Otherwise it was largely interchangeable: Aliens swapped out for robots, Loki swapped out for Ultron, humanity threatened, heroes fight each other, etc.

Now they added a couple new characters, but left at least one very key character out. The "Marvel Universe" includes the fairly popular Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., led by Agent Coulson. Yet Phil is a no-show for Ultron. He played a key role in the first Avengers and is the lead character in Agents, yet there is not even a whisper about him in this latest outing.

Sorry, but he was perhaps the most relatable character in the first movie and adding a family background to superheroes doesn't change that. Why have a Universe that can't integrate even the most simple, yet germane characters? Moreover, why have this major movie/Universe tie with a struggling TV series (that still carries the Marvel brand) and then fail to actually include even a frayed thread of that tie? It almost seems they are writing off the TV series (and a pretty big character) on purpose. Not good for the 4-7 million viewers that have stuck with that series through thick and thin.

Bottom line: The first Avengers was great, the second largely a rewashed version of the first. We want our Universe to EXPAND, not simply have a dozen different storylines that take place at the same time on the same planet - yet never actually meet. Ultron is a good movie, but give me multiple episodes with Daredevil or even Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. any day. I want a relationship - not another one-night stand with the same person wearing a different wig.